When: Saturday February 18th, 3-5pm
Cost: $30

Finding Balance in Improvisation: The Feminine Principle
A lot of mainstream jazz and young students' first introductions to jazz & improvisation highlight/value the masculine qualities of the music - virtuosic, verbose, lots of notes, high, fast, loud, flashy, complex, being a soloist. Some folks, like Sherrie Tucker, theorize over-masculinization in jazz began with the advent of bebop. There's nothing inherently wrong with these masculine qualities - in fact they are necessary. But it's equally important to balance them out with subtler feminine principles: listening, intuition, interconnectedness, community, space, darkness, back-body.... etc.

In this workshop, I direct participants in improvisation exercises to intentionally hold feminine qualities in their awareness as they play. Participants will gain new tools and ways to approach improvising and practicing.

Naomi Moon Siegel is a composer, trombonist, producer and music educator whose work is geared toward creating authentic expression and connection. In June 2016 she released her debut album Shoebox View – a ten-song travelogue featuring 13 musicians and cinematically combining folk melodies with fantastical soundscapes and patient arrangements. She is one half of the folk/punk/jazz duo Syrinx Effect, a member of Wayne Horvitz’s Royal Room Collective Music Ensemble and an active collaborator in the Seattle music scene, performing regionally and internationally.Formerly the band leader of Sunchasers and Naomi & The ODAT Band, Siegel has found a vibrant, fresh outlet for her music performing under her own name. In 2012 she received the Earshot Jazz Golden Ear Award for Emerging Artist of the Year. Siegel has performed with such luminaries as Skerik, Ahamefule J. Oluo, Das Racist, Grace Love & The True Loves, Pickwick, Allison Miller, Wayne Horvitz, and is a former member of The Jefferson Rose Band, Picoso, and Thione Diop's Afro-Groove. Whether performing as a soloist with loops & electronics or with a full band, Siegel's live performances are mesmerizing and embracing. A dedicated educator as well, Siegel is passionate about dispelling toxic myths about women in music while cultivating music cultures that allow for musicians to be their fully expressed selves.
naomimoonsiegel.com